In re E.J., 225 N.C. App. 333

E.J., 14, and his father traveled through NC after a weekend in Fayetteville; an argument led to police involvement and E.J. being brought to DSS.
DSS filed a juvenile petition alleging E.J. was neglected and dependent, noting the father’s bipolar disorder and that E.J.’s NC relatives were unwilling to host him; mother resided in New Hampshire and reportedly could not care for E.J.
Mother was not served with the petition, though the summons to the father was served; DSS sought non-secure custody based on abandonment findings.
Trial court issued initial non-secure custody orders and sought New York acknowledgment of NY Guardian/Judge involvement; it later consulted a NY judge and claimed emergency jurisdiction.
Adjudication and disposition hearing occurred on 9 March 2012; mother was not served and did not attend; the court ultimately adjudicated E.J. dependent and neglected on 4 April 2012.
Court acknowledged lack of explicit findings regarding NY’s exclusive continuing jurisdiction and concluded that the NC court lacked either exclusive or temporary emergency jurisdiction to adjudicate, vacating the 4 April 2012 order and remanding.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Did NC have jurisdiction under UCCJEA/PKPA to adjudicate?	Mother argues NY had exclusive continuing jurisdiction; NC lacked authority.	NC exercised emergency/temporary jurisdiction pending NY determination.	No; NC lacked exclusive or temporary emergency jurisdiction; order vacated.

In re Brode, 151 N.C. App. 690 (2002) (emergency jurisdiction requires clear findings and proper duration)
Williams v. Williams, 110 N.C. App. 406 (1993) (requires specific findings to support custody actions)
In re Malone, 129 N.C. App. 338 (1998) (temporary emergency orders must specify expiration)
In re McKinney, 158 N.C. App. 441 (2003) (jurisdictional threshold for subject-matter is de novo)
In re J.W.S., 194 N.C. App. 439 (2008) (home state determination and continuing jurisdiction criteria)